Best of You
by Nekoi Hiokans
Summary: Matt was never in a good place, not until he met Al. Rated T for mentions of self-harm and alcohol. UsCan.


Best of You

Matt was never in a good place, not until he met Al.

* * *

Another cold and lonely night dotted the path in life for Matthew Williams, the only son of Senator Alexander Williams and his wife Janelle. Life had fun with the ironies it heaped upon Matt. His father was one of the most outspoken anti-gay senators in the history of the senate. Here's where the irony kicks in, Matt, is gay.

His parents found out his senior year and were all too happy to pack him off to college. That was their first mistake. Matt was a shy kid and was easily taken advantage of. Enter one Ivan Braginski. Ivan was a sophomore in college at the time and was known to torment many of the students there. Matt was no exception.

_- Has someone taken your faith?-_

Ivan tormented Matt in a different way though. While most of the kids had to put up with emotional trauma from Ivan, Matt was turned into Ivan's little bitch. Whatever Ivan wanted Matt to do, Matt did. And don't forget all the times he used him for sex. By the end of his freshman year, Matt had spiraled downward and there was no hope of breaking the surface any time soon.

Ivan dropped Matt like a fly at the end of the second semester, something that would shape Matt's thoughts and actions for the next 3 years of his undergrad degree. Matt turned to alcohol and cutting to alleviate the pain that came with his daily life. It didn't do much good.

_-It's real, the pain you feel-_

Matt avoided all human contact as he pressed into his graduate classes and he was doing fairly well at it until one day, he bumped into a small group of people. Back in high school, Matt had been really popular, but after graduation, his parents had wasted no time in abandoning their son, social status be damned. Three of the people in the group took on wide-eyed looks as they recognized Matt.

"Mattie, is that you?" Matt's eyes flew up from the ground. Only 3 people in this world had ever called him Mattie. Matt's throat closed as he saw who was staring back at him; his best friends since Pre-K, Reyane Hokkain, Calthia Karpusi, and Gilbert Beilschmidt.

_-The life, the love-_

Matt gathered his stuff with lightning speed and ran away from his former friends, pushing back tears of pain and disappointment. He heard a vague cry of 'Mattie!' and some footstep pounding into the pavement behind him, but he never stopped running. He didn't want the people he had once loved like his own family to know how far he had fallen.

Once he was sure that he was far enough away and they were no longer chasing him, he slumped against a building. His face was in his hands and he was crying himself senseless. If he had only turned to his friends when he needed them, he wouldn't be in this mess. And now, he was ashamed to be seen by them.

_-You'd die to heal-_

A month goes by and he sees his old friends several more times, but never talks to them. He stops cutting and slows down on the alcohol intake. He feels a clarity that he hasn't had in a long time, but it's not enough. He still has nightmares and he shakes whenever he sees Ivan in the Student Centre. He's sitting all alone in the cafeteria one day when someone talks to him.

"Hey, you look kinda lonely over here." Matt picks his head off of the table to look at the person talking to him. It was another male student; Matt couldn't remember his name at the moment. What Matt did remember was seeing blue eyes as deep as the Arizona skies and blond eyes that were akin to golden fields. Then, the student smiled and Matt was all undone.

_-The hope that starts-_

Alfred F. Jones, that is the kid's name. He's a 23-year old Law Student. He's got this crazy obsession with being a hero and wears a bomber jacket that has probably seen better days. But he is what truly brings Matt back from the brink. Matt stops shaking and can face Ivan without a second thought. He even works up the courage to talk to his old friends.

One day though, the completely platonic relationship between the two changes. Al had been studying his ass off for a Trig exam and had told Matt that if he passed it, they were going out to celebrate. Matt just rolled his eyes and continued to study for his European History exam. The day of the exam, Al came flying out of the lecture hall and jumped into Matt's arms, while planting a kiss squarely on Matt's very shocked mouth.

_-The broken hearts-_

The next few weeks were awkward for Matt and Al. Matt was glad he started speaking to his old friends again; otherwise he would go off the deep end. Reyane and Cal were great with advice while Gilbert teased him mercilessly. Just like old times.

"I think you have a crush on him, I really do." Matt rolled his eyes, but the very idea made Matt's heart race. "And they way he's acting only confirms it." Matt turned around noticing that Cal was staring at something. Al had walked into the cafeteria, holding a bouquet of roses. He was scanning the crowd wildly until his eyes lit up at the sight of Matt. He turned back around and was faced with Reyane's smirk. "Told ya."

_-You trust, you must confess-_

Matt met Al halfway and he noticed how nervous the other looked. A couple nights of bad sleep will do that to you. Al took a deep breath before saying something that had obviously been running through his head the whole way here.

"Matt, I'm not the greatest at this, but…but I think I've fallen in love with you." Matt's eyes widened. Was the world playing a cruel prank on him? Al couldn't have been standing here, saying the very words that Matt had been hoping to hear for weeks now. But he was, his bomber jacket and glasses were askew and he was slightly breathless from running, but he was here and he loved Matt. Matt smiled softly before Al down by the collar of his bomber jacket into a kiss that Matt had been craving all week.

Al smiled against Matt's lips and wrapped his arms around him, pulling him in closely. Time seemed to stand still while Matt was held in Al's embrace. Matt only broke the kiss momentarily for air and took the time to whisper against Al's lips.

"I love you too."

_-I've got another confession my friend  
I'm no fool  
I'm getting tired of starting again  
Somewhere new-_

_

* * *

A/N: I was listening to this song and the idea got stuck in my head. The song is Best of You by Foo Fighters. OH! And I have something entertaining planned for Today and Tomorrow...get prepared to get a taste of the IRL Calthia! I also apologize for making Ivan such an ass, but he was the only on I could think of.  
_


End file.
